Obama: We are now all rooting for Trump's success

REUTERS - President Barack Obama urged Democrats on Wednesday to put aside their disappointment after Republican Donald Trump won the race to replace him and work toward a successful transition of presidential power.

"We are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country," Obama said after a bitter campaign where he worked hard on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's behalf to defeat Trump, who has pledged to undo Obama's top legislative and executive accomplishments.

"I want to make sure that hand-off is well executed because ultimately we're all on the same team," Obama said.

In first speech since loss, Clinton offers to work with Trump

REUTERS - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Wednesday conceded her election loss to Republican Donald Trump and said she offered to work with the president-elect.

"We owe him an open mind and chance to lead," Clinton said in her first speech since the loss, adding it is "our responsibility as citizens is to continue to build a fairer America." Watch full speech here

Clinton to address supporters shortly

REUTERS - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton planned to deliver remarks to staff and supporters at 10:30 A.M. EST (5:30 P.M. Israel time) on Wednesday at a hotel in Manhattan, her campaign said in a statement after her loss to Republican Donald Trump.
A group of women react as voting results come in at Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's election night event, November 8, 2016 in New York City.
AFP

REUTERS - President-elect Donald Trump's campaign manager on Wednesday did not rule out the appointment of a prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton's past practices while serving as President Barack Obama's secretary of state, a threat he made in an election debate.

Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence are "looking to unify the country, but we haven't discussed that in recent days, and I think that it's all in due time," campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said on MSNBC.

Conway made similar comments in appearances on ABC and CNN the day after the Republican real estate developer and former reality TV host Trump stunned the world by defeating Democrat Clinton in the U.S. presidential election. His four-year term starts on Jan. 20.

Last month, Trump vowed to put Clinton in jail, attacking her for operating a private email server during her tenure as chief diplomat under Obama from 2009 to 2013, saying she had endangered national security.

Asked on CNN about the possibility of a special prosecutor, Conway said: "We didn't discuss that last night, and he did not discuss that with Hillary Clinton on the phone." Clinton called Trump to concede the race.

The FBI, which had been investigating her email practices, on Sunday cleared her just two days ahead of the election and stood by its earlier finding that criminal charges were not warranted.

During his second debate with Clinton on Oct. 9, Trump said: "If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation. Because there has never been so many lies, so much deception. There has never been anything like it. And we're gonna have a special prosecutor."

Clinton, who has apologized over her email use, defended herself at the St. Louis debate: "You know it's just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in this country."

Obama congratulates Trump, schedules White House meeting

Democratic President Barack Obama called Republican Donald Trump to congratulate him on his election victory early on Wednesday.

He also invited him to the White House on Thursday to discuss the transition of power, the White House said.
U.S. President Barack Obama walks down the colonnade at the White House in Washington on November 8, 2016.
Nicholas Kamm, AFP

"Ensuring a smooth transition of power is one of the top priorities the president identified at the beginning of the year and a meeting with the president-elect is the next step," the White House press secretary said in a statement.

Obama, who also called unsuccessful Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, will make a statement on Wednesday to discuss the election results.

"President-elect Trump is a true friend of the State of Israel," Netanyahu said. "We will work together to advance the security, stability and peace in our region. The strong connection between the U.S. and Israel is based on shared values, shared interests and a shared destiny."

"I'm certain that President-elect Trump and I will continue to strengthen the unique alliance between Israel and the United States and bring it to new heights," he said.
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu at Trump Tower, September 25, 2016.
GPO

Putin congratulates Trump: 'Looking forward to working together'

In a telegram, Putin told Trump that dialogue between Moscow and Washington serves the interest of both countries and that he hopes to work on international issues together.

Russia's lower house of parliament also applauded the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president.
Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a toast during a ceremony for receiving diplomatic credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin, November 9, 2016.
Sergei Karpukhin, pool photo via AP

State news agency RIA-Novosti says Vyacheslav Novikov, a member of the foreign affairs committee from the governing United Russia party, addressed the State Duma on Wednesday morning.

Novikov said that "three minutes ago, Hillary Clinton acknowledged her defeat in the U.S. presidential elections and just a second ago, Trump began his speech as president-elect. I congratulate all of you on this."

The chamber, where the pro-Kremlin party holds an overwhelming majority, then broke into applause, the report said.

Trump: Americans must come together as one united people

In his victory speech in New York early on Wednesday morning, President-elect Donald Trump called on Americans "to come together as one united people."

"I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans and this is so important to me," he vowed.
President-elect Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech as Vice president-elect Mike Pence looks on during his election night event in New York in the early morning hours of November 9, 2016.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images, AFP

As for Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, Trump said that she had called to congratulate him on winning.

"She congratulated us, it's about us, on our victory, and I congratulated her and her family for a very, very hard fought campaign. She fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country, I mean that very sincerely," he said.

Speaking of the future, Trump said that "For those who have chosen not to support me in the past – of which there were a few people – I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help."

"As I've said from beginning, [this was] not a campaign but an incredible movement. Made up of millions of hardworking people who want better and brighter future," he added.

Trump said that he will embark on numerous projects of "national growth and renewal," and that "we will get along with all other nations willing to get along with us."

"America will no longer settle for anything less that the best," he said. "We must reclaim our country's destiny."

WATCH: Donald Trump acceptance speech

Donald Trump was elected America's 45th president Tuesday, an astonishing victory for a celebrity businessman and political novice who capitalized on voters' economic anxieties, took advantage of racial tensions and overcame a string of sexual assault allegations on his way to the White House.

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